Gina Ford

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Gina Ford (born ca 1960) is a British writer on parenting methods and a former maternity nurse, and has helped to care for over 300 babies during her career. Ford's 1999 bestseller The Contented Little Baby Book advocates a daily routine for both the baby and the parents, with the day divided up into five minute slots. Ford has written nine books on childcare.

Ford has no children of her own, and rarely gives interviews. Last year, three of her books accounted for 25 per cent of the UK childcare sales market.

Ford is a controversial figure amongst parents in Great Britain. Some people dislike her methods whilst others support them. Ford has threatened legal action against mumsnet.com, claiming that users have made "defamatory" comments about her, and has demanded that the whole site be taken down^[1]^[2].

Ford denies that her lawyers have contacted other websites, and claims that Mumsnet.com is the only website she has taken legal action against.

Ford has some prominent defenders, including actress Kate Winslet, but other childcare experts such as Sheila Kitzinger, who prefers a "child centred" approach", have clashed with her. Ford never responds to her crtics, and refuses to enter into public debate about her methods.

In 2004, the BBC commissioned a series from Outline Productions called Gina Ford's Baby School, using Big Brother-style methods to oversee the progress of newborn babies. In January 2005, Ford had a meeting with BBC and Outline Productions, and refused to agree to certain reality-style aspects of the format. With only a few weeks before filming, Ford pulled out and was replaced by Dr Tanya Byron^[3].

Five Life commissioned a programme called Gina Ford: Who Are You To Tell Us?, which aired on 4 March 2007^[4].